Tetris turns 30 and is still going strong

Tetris, an addictive brain-teasing video game, is shown as played on the Nintendo Entertainment System in New York, June 1990. Created by a Soviet scientist, Tetris is the first Communist bloc video game to hit it big in the free market.

Invented in Russia in 1984 by scientist Alexey Pajitnov, the game involves connecting a series of falling, differently shaped blocks to make complete rows. Failure to find a home for the cascading tiles means game over.

The game quickly caught on in the Soviet Union, but it was not until the late '80s that it achieved true commercial success. In 1989 it was licensed to Nintendo and was launched with the company's iconic Game Boy.

35 million copies flew off the shelves and the Game Boy version became the sixth most sold video game of all time, according to Guinness World Records.

Finally, perhaps no other game has been scrutinized as much by the academic community as Tetris. It has been credited with improving brain functionality, reducing post-traumatic stress disorder and even helping people stick to their diets by distracting them from food cravings.

The next stop for Tetris is a digital release on the Xbox One and PS4 by Ubisoft. Not a bad achievement for a game that is heading towards middle age.